Rolling bridge scaffold carriage



March 10, 1964 F. D. JcRsEY ROLLING BRIDGE scAFFoLD CARRIAGE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. l5, 1962 AWN Y I m,

HTTORNE Y March 10, 1964 F. D. JoRsEY ROLLING BRIDGE scAFFoLD CARRIAGE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. l5, 1962 INVENTOR FEL/x D. JORSEY HTTORNEY March 10, 1964 F. D. JoRsEY 3,124,213

ROLLING BRIDGE SCAFF'OLD CARRIAGE Filed Feb. l5, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 n r raR'N EY March 10, 1964 F. D. JoRsx-:Y

ROLLING BRIDGE SCAFF'OLD CARRIAGE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 15, 1962 INVENTOR FEL/x D, JORSEY 'ye/mw' HTTORNEY United States Patent O M' 3,124,213 RLLING BRIDGE SCAFFOLD CARRIAGE Felix D. .orsey, 135 Reservoir Road, Kensington, Conn. Filed Feb. 15, 1962, Ser. No. 174,366 1 Claim. (Cl. 182 13) This invention relates to a rolling bridge scaold carnage, especially adapted for use in supporting workmen while finishing the top and outer sides of a highway bridge wall, without the use of ladders or staging.

One object of the present invention is to provide a scaffold carriage of the above nature consisting of a pair of end frames, a bottom platform, and an outer safety guard fence for the protection of the workmen.

A further object is to provide an apparatus of the above nature which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate, compact, ornamental in appearance, and very eiiicient and durable 1n use.

With these and other objects in view, there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawings one form in which the inventionv may conveniently be embodied in practice.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 represents a side View of the rolling bridge scaffold carriage.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the same, taken from the line 2 2 of FIG. l, with the bridge wall shown in dot and dash lines.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the same, taken from the line 3 3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail top plan View, taken from the line 4 4 of FIG. 2, showing one set of the tandem rubber rollers which engage the outside of the bridge wall, and the brake arm and locking pin for same.

FIG. 5 is a top view of one of the adjustable stabilizer jacks, taken from the line 5 5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged top view of one of the sets of tandem rollers which engage the top of the bridge wall, showing how it is capable of free rolling over the horizontal expansion joints.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side View of the manually operated ratchet mechanism for moving the scaffold carriage along the bridge wall.

FIG. 8 is an end view of the scaffold carriage, taken from the line 8 8 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the same, looking downwardly, from the line 9 9 of FIG. 8.

Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter W indicates the concrete wall of a highway bridge, shown in dot and dash lines in FIG. 2.

The top T and front of the wall W are provided with a plurality of horizontal and vertical expansion joints E (FlGS. 2 and 6). The surfaces of the wall W are adapted to be nished by hand rubbing or power grinding by a crew of workmen standing on a horizontal wooden platform i6.

In order to support the platform 16 in position, provision is made of a rolling bridge scaffold carriage S, comprising a plurality of sections assembled together by bolting, as shown. This scaitold carriage S includes a pair of outer end frames F of hook shape, including a pair of curved top quadrants 10 and 11. The scaffold S also has an outer safety screen or fence 12 provided with crisscrossed bracing rods 14 and 15 located horizontally and vertically respectively.

Provision is also made of an upper vertical frame 13 and an inside upper horizontal frame (FIG. 3). The scaiiold carriage S also has a pair of outer vertical end sections 13a, 13b. The bottom horizontal wood floor plat- 3,124,213 Patented Mar. 10, 1964 form 16 upon which the workmen are supported is reinforced by brace rods ltia, lob and 16e (FIG. 3).

The bottom deck surface of the wall W is indicated by the letter B, and rests upon a T-shaped I-beam (FIG. 2), which forms a part of the bridge construction.

The scaiold carriage S is provided with a pair of verti cal outer braces 17, 1S, and a pair of inner vertical rods i9, and in order to stabilize said carriage, provision is made of a pair of horizontal jack screws 20, located at the ends ot' the carriage S, as clearly shown in FIGS. l, 2 and 5 of the drawing.

Each jack screw 20 is provided with a rear circular foot 21 which engages the T-shaped I-beam 30 (FIG. 2), and has a crank handle 22 at its outer end, said screw 20 being located within a bearing nut 23 secured to the inner vertical rods i9 of the carriage S.

Provision is also made of a pair of horizontal upper brace rods Z4 located below the quadrants 1t) and 11 (FIG. 2). The numeral 25 indicates a horizontal top of the frame F, which extends inwardly from the quadrants 10 and 11.

The numerals Z6 and 28 indicate inclined braces for stiiiening the construction of the carriage S, and the numeral 27 designates a pair of depending outer arms on the inside of the scaffold carriage S for supporting two pairs 31, 32 of tandem rubber rollers 33, 34 which engage the smooth rear inner face of the bridge wall W below the top T thereof. The rollers 33, 34 are supported in cradles 37 mounted in the depending arms 27.

On each end of the top of the rolling bridge scatold carriage S, provision is made of a cradle 40, each of which cradles supports a pair of tandem rubber rollers 41, 42. The cradles 4t) are provided with holes for receiving lock pins 43 connected to said cradles 40 by chains 44, as clearly shown in FIGS. l and 2.

Provision is also made on the rear of the rolling bridge scaffold S of two pairs of horizontal tandem rollers 45, 46 secured within a pair of cradles 47, which rollers 45, 46 are located near the bottom of the wall W at the front thereof and below the level of the rear rollers 33, 34, as clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Locking pins (FIG. 4) are also provided which are insertable into holes 35a and 35b of the cradles 47 and rollers 46 respectively, said pins 35 being secured to said cradles by means of chains 36.

Curved brake arms 3S having handles 39 are also provided on the front cradles 47. The brake arms 33 permit the scaiiold carriage S to be manually held against free wheeling, until the locking pins 35 and 4.3 can be inserted in the holes 35a or 3511 of the cradle 47 and the wheel-s 46, by the workmen.

In case it is desired to mechanically move the scaiiold carriage S lengthwise along the bridge wall W, provision is made on one of the top cradles of a sprocket wheel 48 (FIGS. 7 and 8), engaged by a sprocket chain 49, which also engages a sprocket pinion S0.

The pinion 50 is mounted on a shaft 53, having a ratchet indexing handle 51 located in a position convenient to the workmen, and provided with a reversible pawl 52 mounted on a small pin secured to the handle 51. The numeral 54 indicates a bearing which is mounted on one of the horizontal arms 25 for supporting the shaft 53.

Operation In operation, the three pairs of beveled tandem rubber rollers 33 and 34, 41 and 42, 45 and 46, of the scalfolds will be rolled along the highway bridge wall W in either direction to the desired position, by hand power, or by oscillating the ratchet wrench handle 51. The carriage S will then be held manually in adjusted position by means of the curved brake arm 38, until either or both of the locking pins 35, 43 have been inserted in the holes 35a,

F) 35b located on the pairs of tandem rollers 41, 42 and 45, 46. The brake 38 may then be released, after which the leveling jack screws 20 at the bottom of the carriage S may be tightened to stabilize it.

One advantage of the use of the beveled tandem rollers 33 and 34, 41 and 42, is that they will pass over the horizontal and vertical expansion joints in the wall W Without obstructing the horizontal movement of the bridge scaffold carriage S.

While there has been disclosed in this specication one form in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not limited to this specific disclosure, but may be modified and embodied in various other equivalent forms Without departing from its spirit.

In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claim. Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, and for which it is desired to secure Let,- ters Patent is:

In a rolling bridge scatold carriage for supporting workmen and materials alongside a concrete highway bridge wall having expansion joint grooves in its upper and front faces, a horizontal platform, a frame for supporting said platform comprising a pair of vertical end quadrant frames connected at their bottoms to the ends of said platform, said quadrant frames having front and rear vertical sections, the top of each quadrant frame having a horizontal rear extension overhanging the top of said bridge wall, a pair of cradle-mounted horizontally spaced soft rubber rimmed rollers in tandem supported by each of said overhanging extensions for engagement with the rear of said Wall, a pair of cradle-mounted horizontally spaced soft rubber rimmed rollers in tandem supported by the intermediate portions of the tops of each of said extensions and resting on the top of `said Wall, a pair of cradlemounted horizontally spaced rubber rimmed rollers in tandem mounted on the vertical rear sections of each of said quadrant frames for engaging the front of said wall, whereby said carriage will be capable of rolling freely along said wall to different operating positions with respect thereto, a manually-operated ratchet mechanism mounted on the overhanging rear extension of one of said quadrant frames and operably connected to one of the rollers supprted by said extension, said ratchet mechanism being located in position to be conveniently operated by a Workman to propel said carriage intermittently along said Wall, manually-operated brake means provided on the rear vertical section of one of said quadrant frames to engage one of the rollers mounted on said rear section of said quadrant frame to temporarily prevent free wheeling of said carriage, and a pin on the cradle of the rollers mounted on the rear Vertical section of one of said quadrant frames for insertion into a hole in said cradle and one of the rollers supported thereby to lock said carriage in adjusted position.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 312,908 Shickle Feb. 24, 1885 315,902 Brown Apr. 14, 1885 442,531 Murray Dec. 9, 1890 1,423,998 Camp July 25, 1922 2,170,689 Loomis Aug. 22, 1939 2,730,411 Krane Jan. 10, 1956 2,964,767 Egbert Dec. 20, 1960 

